Cate Shortland has been welcomed into the studio franchise fold with trade paper The Hollywood Reporter breaking the news that the Australian director will helm Black Widow.

The stand-alone adventure of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s heroine assassin will see Scarlett Johansson reprise the role of ex-Russian agent Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow. To date, she has featured as a supporting player in six MCU films.

Hailing from the New South wales country town of Temora, Shortland’s path to the mega-budget tentpole arena comes via the arthouse sector. A graduate of the prestigious Australian Film Television and Radio School, she helmed a series of well-received shorts (Pentuphouse, 1998; Flowergirl, 1999; Joy, 2000) and episodic television before her 2004 feature debut, Somersault.

A frank coming-of-age drama, Somersault launched the careers of stars Abbie Cornish and Sam Worthington during a festival run that yielded 14 Australian Film Institute awards and earning Shortland an Un Certain Regard nomination at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. She followed its success with the German/Australian co-production Lore (2012) and the Teresa Palmer hostage drama, The Berlin Syndrome (2017).

A Black Widow film has been whispered about within the Marvel Films empire for several years. In 2014, MCU overseer Kevin Feige said the project was being developed, a position he restated in 2016. The attachment of rookie scribe Jac Schaeffer (TiMER, 2009; Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, 2017; The Shower, due 2019; pictured, right) in January has fast-tracked the project.

When released, Black Widow will become the second MCU production to be directed by a woman. Captain Marvel, starring Brie Larsen and due March 8 2019, has Anna Boden behind the camera, co-directing with Ryan Fleck.

Read the 2012 SCREEN-SPACE Interview with Cate Shortland discussing the release of LORE.